"Oh Kat, I wonder what you're doing now..." A still bedridden Lars sighed, staring out the window yet again.
"Who's Kat?" Qiqi, sitting at his bedside, asked. Lars shook his head.
"A dear friend. Someone I had the pleasure of knowing during my time in the Chasm."
"Oh, where is she now?"
"You're asking a question I have no answer to, Qiqi." Lars smiled sadly at her. Qiqi silently nodded, looking down.
For the past few days, Qiqi has been hanging out with him as much as she could whenever she wasn't dealing with customers. He didn't know why, it was probably something he did that garnered the girl's interst in him.
For Qiqi, it was her goal to find out what made her feel that warmth when Lars patted her head the first day they met. She had asked Baizhu about it, but that man only gave cryptic answers that she couldn't even remember now. So, she had ordered herself to hang out with him as much as he could, in order to research that strange comfortable feeling.
"I wonder what it's like to have a friend..." Qiqi mumbled. Lars looked at her again.
"Do you not have any friends?" He asked. Qiqi shook her head. "What about that Baizhu guy, isn't he your friend?" He wondered. He had met Baizhu during his first day staying here.
The man, who had a talking white snake hanging on his neck, had given him an explanation of his injuries, handing him medicines, giving him the schedule of taking said medicines, how long he would be staying here, and the physiotherapy that he would undergo. After that, he never saw the green haired doctor again.
"Hmm...no. I don't even remember his face from time to time. He's... just weird..."
"I see...." Having played the game before, he knew why Qiqi was talking about Baizhu in that manner. But he kept quiet about it, instead asking her a question.
"Then do you want to be my friend?" He asked sincerely. Qiqi stared at him.
"Why would you? Aren't you scared of me?" Qiqi had revealed that she was a zombie during the second day of his stay, and truth be told, even though he knew that long ago, that didn't change Lars' perception of her at all. Everyone, especially in the world of Taeyvat, is unique after all.
"Why would I be scared of you though?" He asked, tilting his head. Qiqi looked down once more.
"Even though I look like a child, the kids never want to play with me. They say I don't laugh, and don't show any emotions, and so they leave me alone. They said so themselves, they're scared of me." Lars shook his head, patting her head once again.
"It's alright. Don't mind them, Qiqi. They don't know any better, they're children after all. But you should know that I am not those children, and I won't treat you that way." There it was again, Qiqi felt the comfortable feeling return. She didn't know if it was due to his words or the headpat, maybe it was both.
"I would be very happy if you were my friend, Qiqi."
"Really?" Lars nodded, his face full of confidence and warmth that Qiqi never saw in someone before.
"Yes, Qiqi." Qiqi looked down again, this strange warmth in her heart was overflowing. Her face contorted into a strange expression, one she never experience before.
"Then, let's be friends." Lars widened his eyes as he stares at Qiqi, who was smiling warmly at him. It was a small smile, but it meant the world to Lars.
"What...What did I just do? My face, it did something strange." Qiqi, noa emotionless again, asked herself as she pulled her face and squished it. It was a comical scene. Lars chuckled.
"You just smiled, Qiqi. Feels nice doesn't it?"
"I...Smiled?... But... that's impossible..."
"Trust me, Qiqi. I saw you smile, and I'm sure you felt it too. And you have a very beautiful smile." He grinned, patting her head again. Qiqi closed her eyes, letting the comfy feeling flow through her once again.
"Thank you, Lars...." She whispered. Just then, a knock on the door could be heard by the two.
"Come in." The door opened as Lars widened his eyes at the unannounced visitor. 'What the hell is she doing here...' He thought to himself as the person approached him.
"Judging by your reaction I guess you know who I am." The person in question smiled, it was Ningguang who finally had spare time to visit him after a few days full of meetings.
"Well who in this world doesn't...." Lars whispered, eliciting a small smile from her. This was his chance, to make a good first impression. What came out next would decide his fate—
"You're really beautiful." He muttered. And he failed, his reputation plummeted in that instant. But why did Ningguang look as if she was amused.
"Really? Thank you for the compliment..." She looked down at Qiqi, who had been silently staring at her this whole time.
"Is she your daughter?" She asked, noticing that she was far younger than he was.
"Nah, she's my friend. She's an apprentice here at the pharmacy. Say hi, Qiqi." He encouraged the child. Qiqi looked down a little.
"Hello, my name is Qiqi. Nice to meet you, miss." Ningguang laughed a little at the politeness. She reached out her hand, and patted the child's head gently.
"Hehe. You're very cute and polite, Qiqi. I like you already." Qiqi blinked, silently accepting the compliments with a nod. She couldn't understand why she and Lars like patting her head, maybe she could ask Lars later, if she even remembers to.
He smiled at the scene. The small child doesn't know it yet, but he was sure that lots of people would adore her if they met her. Ningguang turned his attention back on him, while still gently patting Qiqi's small head.
"Lars, right? I take it you know why I'm here?"
"Yes. If you want to know how I got down there. I don't even know myself, I just randomly woke up there without any explanation."
"And approximately how long were you down there? " Ningguang asked, with Qiqi pulling an extra chair into the room, remembering that she needed to be nice to guests. The Tianquan rewarded her gesture with another headpat.
"I don't know, months maybe? I didn't exactly keep count ya know."
"Nevermind that. You do know that your actions can't be kept quiet. The wildfire has spread. The whole Millelith are talking about you, consequentially this would mean that the whole of Liyue is gossiping about you."
"Eh whatever, let them talk. I don't mind it." He shrugged at the revelation.
" What do you plan to do next after you're released from the pharmacy?"
'Oh I see what you're doing. You're trying to make sure I don't do anything that threatens Liyue. Jokes on you miss, I'm not the villain type like you thought I was.' Well, Ningguang knows she isn't exactly hiding it either. Being blunt does work sometimes.
"Nothing grand really, I was thinking about registering at the Adventurers Guild. I basically have nothing to my name right now, so a fresh start would be great."
"I see... We've also gathered pieces of a broken sword at the battlefield between you and the Ruin Serpent, I presume it was your sword."
"Yup, was a real good one as well. Shame it's broken. Well, can't dwell on that forever, what's done is done. I'll probably just save up some Mora and buy myself another one."
"How about I get you a new one?"
"Huh?" Lars blinked at the offer.
"Yes, I'll have your blade handcrafted by the best in Liyue and delivered to you when it's done. Consider it a thank you for dealing with our serpent problem in the Chasm." Lars sighed, that is really an offer he couldn't refuse. Who wouldn't want a blade for free? And it's from the Tianquan herself, so the quality is going to be undeniably amazing.
"I....Sure...Thank you, Ningguang." Lars smiled at her. She nodded, before getting up and heading towards the door.
"Going already? We haven't even had tea yet." Lars asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Ningguang looked back, a smile on her face.
"I'm a busy woman, can't you tell? But maybe some other time, Lars. Don't worry, I always keep my promises."
"Sure, it's a date then." He grinned cheekily at her. Ningguang, a little taken aback by his straightforwardness, could only smile and shake her head before she left the room.
"Who was that Ningguang woman?" Qiqi asked after some silence.
"Oh, she's just someone very important."
"How important?"
"Well... Let's say without her, Liyue would probably be in shambles."
"Wow, so she's powerful then."
"Oh you don't know the half of it, Qiqi."
To be continued.....